Harry Potter's next trick? Something new

Daniel Radcliffe, who opened officially on Broadway last night in Equus, will return to the London stage in two years in a new play.

'It's got to be something new and I will be there,' said Daniel who stars in Peter Shaffer's drama, written four decades ago, with Richard Griffiths at the Broadhurst Theatre.

Daniel looked at several classics - he even explored Romeo And Juliet - but rejected the 'oldies' for something by a contemporary writer.

As a New York first-night present, David Pugh, who produced Equus in London, has given Daniel the gift of a brand new play.

Pugh has spoken to one writer but hopes to commission three, to give Daniel a good choice.

'He's done the big revival and now we've got 18 months for a playwright to come up with something,' Pugh told me.

The 19-year-old actor, best known for playing Harry Potter on the big screen, will continue in Equus through late February and then spend more than a year shooting the final Potter movies - Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, which will be made in two parts.

Potter's adventures in his sixth year at Hogwarts, The Half-Blood Prince, is released next year.

While Daniel happily acknowledges the Potter pictures have given him an extraordinary global stature, he nonetheless doesn't want to be totally defined by the young wizard.

Starring role: Daniel at Harry Potter

His decision to be in Equus, first in London, followed by Broadway, was a radical masterstroke. Indeed, his acting has markedly matured in New York and, as I noted last week, both he and Griffiths are awesome in the play - so much so that when I saw it there, it spoke to me in a much stronger sense than it had done before.

It wouldn't necessarily follow that Daniel's next theatre gig would be in the West End.

He's a fan of the Bush Theatre in West London, so he may opt to perform there, or at any of the other prominent off-West End venues.

'He wants to be actively involved with the writer or writers and he sees the theatre as a place he wants to perform on a regular basis,' Pugh told me. 'He's not going to be a stranger to the stage - he wants to be considered as being of the theatre,' he explained, echoing the same sentiment Daniel has shared with me.

How Nick Moran saved the pennies on his latest film

Nick Moran made every last penny count when he was directing his movie about Joe Meek, the innovative Sixties record producer.

Moran, best known for his role in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, resorted to ingenious methods to provide the little details which drew me into his new movie Telstar.

He and his designer 'borrowed' a sign from Hampstead Heath to illustrate a scene set there (although it was shot in a different park), but later returned it.

When the film-makers wanted to close off a busy road, they used extras in police uniforms to stop traffic. 'Well, we were using them anyway,' Moran told me nonchalantly.

Instead of going home like his cast - which included Con O'Neill as Meek, as well as James Corden, Pam Ferris, JJ Feild and Ralf Little - Moran stayed on at Twickenham Studios, setting up shots for the next day and then retiring to a camper van he kept in the car park.

Twang dynasty: Gene Vincent and Joe Meek revived

'It was an old wreck,' joked Simon Jordan, the millionaire Crystal Palace owner who bankrolled the picture. 'I offered to pay for a hotel but he wouldn't have it.'

'It saved me a lot of time,' Moran insisted of the camper van. 'I'd go to sleep in it, shower in a dressing room and be on set ready and prepared before anyone got there in the morning.

'There was a lot of stick and spit in this production,' the director added proudly of Telstar, which is an often funny exploration of Meek's ultimately tragic life as a music producer of people like Heinz and The Tornados, who performed the catchy, spacy instrumental Telstar.

If money really needed to be spent, then it was provided. For instance, producer Jordan was happy to shell out for the singer Duffy and an orchestra for the movie's soundtrack, and for the lengthy post-production process.

For some music, though, there was a touch of, shall we say, improvisation.

Apparently, Dave Clarke of the Dave Clarke Five didn't get on with Meek, so when Jordan rang him for permission to use Glad All Over the answer was a stern 'No'.

'Yeah,' said Moran sadly, but, brightening up, added: 'But we did use a track called Glad All The Time, which sounds almost exacly the same but, crucially, isn't!'

The Kinks' hit You Really Got Me proved too pricey for their budget. But if that's the case, I said, what was that familiar-sounding riff I heard? 'Actually, it's me playing that but, again, it's different.

'We needed that song, so it's my brother Simon, Justin Hawkins, and Clem Cattini - who played drums on the original. We called ourselves the Moranoraks,' Moran confessed.

The film marvellously embodies the chaos Meek worked in at a flat above a shop on the Holloway Road in North London. It's like a classic farce with lots of slamming doors, tons of jokes and a perfect portrait of one of the seminal pop producers of the era.

Telstar has its world premiere at the Times BFI London Film Festival on October 25 at the Odeon West End. Call 020 7928 3232 or visit www.bfi.org.uk/lff for info.

Jennifer Hudson's next hit... A shop assistant in Carolina?

Jennifer Hudson felt like a second-class citizen on a shopping trip

Jennifer Hudson was given a homework task before she started shooting the movie The Secret Life Of Bees, which is set in the American South at a time when blacks were beaten up simply for attempting to register to vote.

The film's director Gina Prince-Bythewood gave Jennifer, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for Dreamgirls and almost stole the movie of Sex And The City, and fellow actress Dakota Fanning a shopping list and asked them to go into a store in North Carolina.

Before entering the shop, the director cautioned: 'Whatever you do, don't hit anyone!' 'I couldn't fathom why she would say that to me,' Jennifer recalled, when we met in Toronto.

She told me that when they went into the shop, the staff were helpful and courteous to Dakota, but whenever she asked for assistance, they were curt.

'It was soon clear that I was not welcome and then I was stopped and asked to empty my pockets! It shocked me so bad - I'd never experienced anything like that. Thank god I heard Gina's words in my head: "Don't hit anyone!"'

Ms Prince-Bythewood wanted her cast, who also included Sophie Okonedo, Queen Latifah and Alicia Keys, to experience the kind of segregation that did not end until the mid-Sixties.

In The Secret Life Of Bees, Jennifer plays the maid who cares for Dakota and tries to protect her from her father (a brilliant Paul Bettany, almost unrecognisable behind a brutal Southern redneck mask).

'In the film, I have to fight against three men who won't let me register,' she said. What a contrast with her own life - this year, she sang for Barack Obama at the Democratic convention. 'That's how far we've gone!' she told me, after Bees was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Jennifer's determined to show that she can do dramatic as well as musical roles - and she can, no worries.

She loves to sing, though, and her first album, called simply Jennifer Hudson, is a glorious showcase of R & B, gospel and soaring ballads (including And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going from Dreamgirls).

One of the best tracks is a duet she does with Fantasia called I'm His Only Woman, a number which both women perform with gusto.

The album's out here on Monday and the film's being screened at the London Film Festival on October 23 and 25.

How Hurricane Helen Mirren is hoping to Prospera

Helen Mirren is working up a storm

Helen Mirren's busy in New York rehearsing a film version of The Tempest with director Julie Taymor - and the Oscar-winning actress will give us a Prospera rather than a Prospero.

Taymor's preparing her company of actors at a studio space in Manhattan and plans to fly her cast to Hawaii in November to shoot the island scenes, and finish filming in London.

Taymor has such a great visual imagination - witness Across The Universe, Frida and Titus on screen and The Lion King on stage (still running in London) - that her movies are great to look at even if, sometimes, the content drives you nuts. She's fun to argue with, too.

After shooting The Tempest, Helen then moves to The Debt, in which (as I mentioned before) she'll play an Israeli agent.

It's being directed next year by John Madden, from a screenplay by Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman.

After that, the actress will tackle Racine's Phaedra at the National Theatre, along with Margaret Tyzack, for director Nicholas Hytner.

Working hard: The German schoolboys auditioning for love

The finalists for roles in the London production of Broadway musical Spring Awakening, about randy 19th-century German schoolboys and the gymslip girls they fall for, take part in a workshop of the show next week.

That will allow director Michael Mayer and choreographer Bill T. Jones to make their final picks for when the show, which boasts a rock score, begins performances at the Lyric, Hammersmith, on January 23.

When I saw Jones in New York recently, he said he'll be spending a lot of time in the UK because he also wants to find an African actor for his NY show Fela!

If Spring Awakening works at the Lyric, there are plans to transfer it to the Novello Theatre in Aldwych.

The show has one fantastic, angry number in Act 2 that got my attention. Essentially, though, it's for a young audience. I hope West End tickets are priced accordingly, because a lot of people won't be able to afford the steep prices being asked for shows next year.

ITV back on the ball with their latest heartache drama

Marcquelle Ward, one of the young actors in ITV's new song, dance and heartache drama Britannia High, said of her character 'nothing speaks more than passion' - and that's also true of this show, about a troupe of six wannabes attending a fictional college of performing arts in London, which goes out on ITV in late October.

What I loved about the programme, written by Jonathan Harvey from an original idea by Arlene Phillips and David Ian, is that it shows that the entertainment industry is hard graft and dispels the notion that after a few appearances on some reality show, you're suddenly a star.

Britannia High: Looking up for ITV

I was particularly struck by the leads - Sapphire Elia, Georgina Hagen, Mitch Hagen (from Channel 4's Skins), Rana Roy, Matthew James Thomas and the aforementioned Ms Ward - who sing, dance, and act as if they might just become stars one day.

Looks like ITV has finally got its mojo back!

Watch out for...

Derek Jacobi

...who begins rehearsals next week for Twelfth Night, in which he will play Malvolio. Director Michael Grandage will present the play as the second in the Donmar West End season at Wyndham's Theatre from December 5.

The company will include Victoria Hamilton (pictured) as Viola, Indira Varma as Olivia, Samantha Spiro as Maria, Lloyd Hutchinson as Antonio and Ron Cook as Sir Toby Belch. Mark Bonnar, Zubin Varla, Guy Henry, Norman Bowman and Alex Waldmann are also in the company.

Grandage noted that Twelfth Night is one of the great ensemble plays. The Wyndham's season will continue with Madame de Sade in March (with Judi Dench and Rosamund Pike) and Hamlet (starring Jude Law).

...who star in the screen version of Peter Morgan's prize-winning play Frost/Nixon, which opens the Times BFI London Film Festival on October 15.

The film, directed by Ron Howard, details how Frost, then considered a lightweight, sought to interview former president Richard Nixon a couple of years after he was forced to resign because of the Watergate scandal.

The movie's at its most gripping when Sheen goes into the lion's den to wrestle a break-out soundbite from a wounded political beast. What with the electrifying U.S. election and all the shenanigans at home, politics - while still a dirty business - is kinda sexy.

I watched the interviews after seeing the film and I could see how they helped a nation heal, but somehow the actors portraying Frost and Nixon on the big screen seemed to fascinate me even more than the real thing.

Eddie Redmayne

...who is giving one of the best performances in London as the son of a presidential candidate caught in the scary glare of a potential scandal.

Christopher Shinn's play Now Or Later, which is on at the Royal Court, has been extended through to November 1 (just a few days before the first Tuesday in November... U.S. election day!).

The play poses some great points that we - all of us - have been pondering anyway.

Sam Mendes is adapting Checkov

Sam Mendes

...who soon begins rehearsing Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard for what's known as the Bridge Project.

Simon Russell Beale leads the company, with an ensemble comprising American and British actors. The play will open at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, then tour, ending up at the Old Vic next summer.

Meanwhile, Sam's movie Revolutionary Road, with Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio, is likely to be a major Oscar contender - if anyone ever gets to see it.

Gary Cole

...best known from stints on Desperate Housewives and the West Wing, who has joined many of the original company members of the Tracy Letts play August: Osage County, which will begin performances at the National Theatre from November 21.

Cole has travelled to be with fellow Steppenwolf Company members in Chicago, where early rehearsals are taking place.

The cast is led by Deanna Dunagan, as a pill-popping matriarch of the Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf school of big, bad, mad mammas.

Osage is dark and quite simply wonderful. Some of you may have seen Letts's previous works Killer Joe and Bug, but Osage is his master work.